The Glories of Autumn

I love this time of year. The pretty flowers of Spring and Summer are delightful and I enjoy the warmth of the sun. The opportunity to turn inward in Winter is a necessity for me, but my very favorite season is the joy of Autumn with its colors and harvest.

This picture was taken at Gig Harbor High School. Each Fall this courtyard is my favorite spot at work.

My favorite holiday is Halloween with its chance to play dress up and its opportunity to remember those who have gone on ahead. Last Saturday my husband, son, and I spent the day decorating for Halloween.

Here is my breakfront in my kitchen with my pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.
Here's the witches in the dinning room with my son's considerable cobwebs!

On Sunday we rewarded ourselves with our annual Autumn drive. Last year it was Greenwater. This year we went on a crisp sunny drive over to Key Peninsula all the way to Penrose State Park and Far A Way. We’ve decided that Penrose will be a destination next summer with the children.

We took our dog Loki with us who enjoyed a long walk down a forest trail, away from a loud foursome who were sharing a picnic lunch and the echo the bowl of Penrose provides. They were not young people, but rather four retirees who haven't lost their sense of play, but didn't realize their antics were spoiling the silence of place.

My second favorite holiday is Thanksgiving when I can celebrate my family with a holiday that Hallmark has not been able to commercialize since Thanksgiving is about the emotion of thankfulness for all that we’ve been blessed with.

Here is our dear friend Jon cooking our turkey in Ilwaco last year. That bird was the best I’ve ever put into my mouth and he and his wife Jo are now our designated turkey cookers. They were already designated family.

Here we are last year sharing our Thanksgiving meal in Ilwaco.

This year we will have much to be thankful for. My mother has survived two bouts of infections and my husband has so far survived a work closure. And best of all we will have a new member of the family whose arrival will occur any day now!

The Rose-of-Sharon is in Bloom

The Rose-of-Sharon was in bloom when I returned to Gig Harbor from my summer in Ilwaco. That can only mean that school is about to start bringing with it new faces of students and staff, a new schedule, new challenges.

When I still had four school-age children, back-to-school meant laying out a lot of cash. I was sorry to see my young ones go off to spend the bulk of their day with someone else and as a mostly single mom my pocketbook was wrung out to pay for all the things on the lists sent home by the school district (including graphing calculators that they never needed again) as well as the school insurance and the school photographs. Back-to-school clothes were mostly purchased at thrift stores of one variety or another, the only way we could squeak through the month with food. All the syllabi sent home from teachers requiring signatures! It was hard to keep track of which child was taking which classes and wending my way around school on back-to-school night was something akin to Alice chasing the White Rabbit.

Although three weeks remain of summer, Labor Day always seems to herald Autumn, my favorite season. And yet, I feel somewhat cheated by the summer we had this year. The blackberries did not ripen in time for a pie at the beach this year and there was not as much porch time as I would have liked. Still, I must admit to excitement of all that Autumn brings with her: harvest vegetables (if they ever ripen), crock-pot soups and Mother Nature’s storms (though not so violent as that of the last two Decembers, please!) and making plans for the Fall holidays.

The lazy days of summer, if such ever existed, are dwindling. Already my grandson is anticipating Halloween, our family’s favorite holiday. What are you sorry to see leave with Summer and what do you look forward to as we transition into Fall? My most anticipated occasion is the eminent arrival of the newest member of our family, a little girl due November 2nd!